Katy Hertell (b. 1941) is a ceramic artist and sculptor living in Helsinki. She is best known for her life-like animal figures, which she has been making since the 90’s. Eastern and Greek mythology are very present in the human motifs, which in more recent years have taken the shape of her ‘Nature Protector’ sculptures; head-shaped flower pots which carry and sustain a small piece of nature. The first piece was born out of a mistake, when a crack gave a broken sculpture a new meaning as it was taken out of the kiln. The interface of art and functionality is manifest in the object, tied in with an expression of the inseparability of man and the more-than-human world.
“Aesthetics being a primary tool in my work, I want to express our dependency on Nature.”
